Banana pads — CNBC.com
Banana pads
In Rwanda, the organization, the Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) started by young entrepreneur Elizabeth Scharpf has since 2008 been developing affordable maxi pads locally.
Scharpf built a production site in Eastern Rwanda and with the country producing a lot of bananas, this facilitated the production of cheap banana fibre pads that challenge imported big brands.
Local women who make up a majority of the workers at the production site process the fibres extracted from the banana trunks with equipment provided by SHE.
The fibres are cut, washed, fluffed and solar-dried before they are compressed into the pads.
The pads are eco-friendly, as no water and little electricity are used in making them.
The good news is, unlike pads made by big brands, the banana pads do not contain any chemicals or non-biodegradable super-absorbent polymers.
